What Fitness & Health Clubs Don’t Want
You to Know is That You Don’t Need
Fitness Equipment, Weights or Exercise
Machines to Get Fit & Stay Fit.

But This Cannot Be True, Can It?

Everyone knows that to be serious about fitness takes years of dedicated training with all the latest exercise apparatus.  Don’t they? 

Almost every gym, fitness club or health club reinforces this by being chock full of fitness apparatus.  Years of indoctrination and we believe it.  We even help our own indoctrination by being gadget mad.  But the truth is there is no truth in it.  None whatsoever. 

The snag is that having been indoctrinated with the idea for so long, it’s hard for some people to shake it off.  So, if you’re one of those …

Let me help you.

Click here for more on Fitnessblasting and Fitness Equipment

Some Uses For Some Equipment

But the fact that fitness machinery and gadgetry are completely unnecessary for fitness doesn’t always mean that they have no benefit.  What it means is that even though you don’t need them, they can still be useful in some circumstances.

For example, for those who are grossly overweight or with a heart condition, it might be better to use the support of apparatus.  On other words, although the vast majority of people should be able to perform Blaster Squats (see The Fitnessblasting Manual), these may be just too much for those who are overweight and out of condition. 

Two equipment options initially stand out.  These are the stationary bike and the swimming pool.  As you would expect, there are pros and cons for each.  The key factor in both is that they give support where weight is excessive.

But initially, to get it out of the way, I rule out the option of jogging.  Now don’t get me wrong here, jogging is great.  But for someone overweight and very out of shape it isn’t so marvellous.  It’s a load bearing impact exercise, which can easily damage knees and hips - especially when you’re carrying a lot of load!  It’s also exhausting and potentially dangerous for out-of-condition hearts, legs and lungs.

Stationary Bike

A better option is a Stationary Bike.  This can provide workouts of various intensities by alterations of the tension needed for pedalling.  Additionally, this can also make it a bit more interesting (well, just a bit) and help keep boredom at bay.

The key thing is that it gives your legs and lungs a workout, which is exactly what is needed.  At the same time, sitting supports your weight so there is less likelihood of knee and hip problems.  As fitness advances you will find that you can stand on the pedals to cycle with greater intensity.

This may take you to Spinning.  But take a lot of care with this because even Beginners classes are very high energy.  In reality, they are for individuals who are already quite fit but who are beginners at spinning, as distinct from beginners at exercising. 

If you alternate sitting and standing while pedalling this will provide some element of upper body workout.  Otherwise, there is little upper body benefit.  This isn’t necessarily a big drawback as The Fitnessblasting Manual has some great stuff for the upper body.

Swimming

Alternatively, swimming is good general fitness activity (although take a peek at my story about injuring my neck).  It’s especially good for someone unfit and overweight who might need the support that water provides to minimise possible joint stress. 

Unfortunately, it’s less efficient from the point of view of slimming down as it usually takes a long time to get good enough in technique and ability to be as effective as alternatives. 

It’s also very damp.

Snags

The snag with stationary bike riding or spinning is that it needs a bike.  Likewise, swimming needs the most expensive piece of equipment of all - a swimming pool.  So, these methods generally require gym membership.  If this is not a problem, I suggest that you join and try them.

The great benefit to you of using these options in conjunction with the other Fitnessblasting routines is that you will make great gains in strength, endurance and agility.  Secondly, you will lose excess fat because you will burn calories and, in conjunction with your other exercises, you will build muscle. 

The critical advantage of this is that muscles burn energy even when not being exercised.  Take a look at the article on Diet Voodoo for more on this.

The double effect of getting stronger and losing flab means that things are now going your way.  Even better, each of these two aspects reinforces the other and you will have entered an upward cycle of achievement and reinforcement.

Aerobics

Apart from the danger of death by boredom, aerobics of one sort or another is commonly recommended for weight loss.  Most fitness clubs make heroic attempts to overcome the boredom element with elaborate sound systems and TV screens all over the place.  

Probably a bigger problem for someone who is not an exercise fanatic, but who still wants to be fit in the all-round sense, is that aerobics takes ages.  After all, for most people there is more to keeping fit than just aerobics.  And some people want a life outside the gym too.

But the core critique of Aerobics is that it is NOT the most effective fat-burning exercises. 

BodyShocking is Best

BodyShocking is much more efficient for weight loss.  But for anyone with a medically sensitive condition this will be far too strenuous.  So it is better to start with exercises of a far more gentle kind and then go to BodyShocking when fitness has developed sufficiently. 

So, if you can, take a look at the Really Useful eBooklet, Beginning BodyShocking: The Rapid Alternative To Aerobics. 

The Finest Fitness Apparatus on Earth

What I’m trying to say is that you carry around with you all-day and everyday the finest piece of fitness equipment there is.  It’s also available on holiday or when working away from home or when the health club is closed.  It is, of course, your own body.

Talk about total fitness or 24 hour fitness!  This equipment is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 52 weeks a year.  All you need is the know-how about using it.  The Fitnessblasting Manual provides you with the know-how.

The Next Finest Fitness Apparatus

But there is one piece of ‘external’ fitness apparatus that I like and use. 

Interestingly, none of the gyms and fitness clubs I know provide this to members.  Yet it is one of the simplest pieces of fitness equipment there is.  I mean, of course, a rope for skipping or rope jumping (maybe ropes are not seen as expensive enough to justify the membership fees?).

Yet skip rope jumping is absolutely one of the finest exercises on earth.  It has huge all-round advantages and benefits. 

For example, it develops a wide variety of fitness areas: cardio, stamina, coordination, strength, balance, upper and lower body.  It’s also great for burning calories and losing weight.  In a nutshell, it burns off fat and builds muscle at the same time.

Better still, like Blaster-Squats, it is practically unbeatable for time-efficiency in developing strength and endurance.  So it’s no wonder that it has long been basic for boxers who need both power and stamina.

Pros & Cons

A big advantage is that it doesn’t take anything like the time of jogging or the usual recommendations for sessions of 20 or 30 minutes on this or that piece of machinery. 

Another big advantage is that it can be done almost anywhere and the apparatus is so small and light it can be taken anywhere.   I find that a simple plastic rope is both adequate and cheap.  But there are heavier ropes on the market that give a better overall workout.

The snag is that rope jumping is a lot more intense than you would think.  This means that if you are beginning a fitness campaign from a very poor condition it will probably prove too strenuous.  So, it’s something to develop towards. 

Start where you are. 

     Then move on to skipping. 

          Then to BodyShocking.

For more information on the massive hype and over-use of machinery in fitness, click here.

Remember:

• You Don’t Have To Be A Fanatic To Be Fit!
• If You Can Move, You Can Improve!

You don’t have to live in the gym to get fit or spend mad hours working out.  All you need to know is the know-how.  Get the Know-How now.

Regards

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